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Slanderous letter sent about BOE member

Shakila Henderson-Baker, District 3 representative for the Newton County Board of Education, reported that someone delivered several slanderous letters about her to homes on Village Drive Thursday.

According to a report from the Covington Police Department, police responded to a home located on Carlton Trail NW around 8:30 p.m. in reference to a call about harassment.

A police officer spoke with Henderson-Baker's mother who said a neighbor showed her a letter that was given to her and her neighbors on Village Drive. Henderson-Baker's mother told police that her neighbor said the letters were placed on mailboxes on Village Drive and neighboring streets before 5 p.m. that day. Police read the letter and in the report described the letter as "slanderous" towards Henderson-Baker.

Henderson-Baker told police that she wanted to make a report about the letter just in case the person responsible made any threats or took further action that would endanger her or her family. She gave police names of the people she thought could be responsible for the letter, but was unsure if the people she named had the information available to write the letter about her, which included personal information about her and her friends and family.

While speaking with Henderson-Baker and her mother, several other neighbors also called dispatch to report that they had received the letter. The police officer spoke to one of the neighbor's who said she and her mother both received a letter, but she was unaware of who dispersed the letter.

The letter was submitted to the police department for evidence and forwarded it to a detective for further investigation.

"We suspect that it's somebody who clearly knows us," said Henderson-Baker Saturday. "We want the investigation to take its course and me and my family will cooperate fully with investigators. I am really thankful that the neighbors called both my family and the police. I really appreciate them doing that."